If you begin to miss the relentless pomp and propaganda of Pyongyang, this massive display of the gifts given to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, housed in a mountainside vault that is vaguely reminiscent of a Bond villain's hideout, will remind you that you are still very much in North Korea.
Before entering, you will be asked to put on shoe covers in keeping with the reverential attitude shown by one and all. A member of your group may be honoured with the task of opening the vast doors that lead into the exhibit – after putting on ceremonial gloves to protect the polished doorknob.
Kim Il-sung’s gifts are very impressive. Particularly noteworthy is the beautiful armoured train carriage presented to him by Mao Zedong and a limousine sent by that great man of the people, Josef Stalin. The exhibits are arranged geographically, although you will thankfully only be shown the highlights of the 100,000-plus gifts spread over 120 rooms. Gifts from heads of state are displayed on red cloth, those from other officials on blue and gifts from individuals on brown. The undeniable highlight is a stuffed crocodile holding a tray of wooden glasses, presented to the Great Leader by the Sandinistas.
The tone of the visit is very strict and sombre, so avoid the very real temptation to ice skate across the over-polished floor in your foot covers. The most reverential and surreal part of the exhibit is the final room, in which there is a grinning life-sized waxwork of the Great Leader, to which you will be expected to bow your head before leaving respectfully.
Next is Kim Jong-il’s similarly spectacular warehouse, where gifts given to him have been housed in a vault built into the cave wall. Kim Jong-il's gifts include those from Hyundai and CNN, as well as a good-luck note from Jimmy Carter and a basketball from Madeleine Albright. Indeed, some parts of the exhibit look like any upmarket electronics showroom – row after row of wide-screen TVs and stereo equipment donated by industrialists. There's also a rendering of the Dear Leader in wax here.
